EU Releases Annual U.S. Trade Barriers Report

The European Commission today released its 22nd annual Report on Barriers to Trade and Investment in the U.S., detailing the obstacles that EU exporters and investors face in the U.S. market as well as progress on several fronts. Among key developments noted in the report:

• Substantial progress on a range of important trade barriers -- the end of the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporations subsidy tax scheme, the repeal of the Byrd Amendment, and the lifting of telecom sanctions -- in addition to encouraging signs on moves towards U.S. conformity with WTO rulings on anti-dumping and countervailing measures.

• The increasing impact of growing U.S. national security restrictions on the flow of EU investments, which account for more than two-thirds of U.S. foreign direct investment, and on efforts to conclude a first-stage comprehensive air services agreement.

The German Presidency of the EU has made improving transatlantic trading conditions a priority. Working to break down barriers to trade on both sides of the Atlantic is at the heart of the EU-U.S. Transatlantic Economic Initiative, which will be on the agenda of the upcoming 2007 EU-U.S. Summit.

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